Last Modified: Saturday, February 16, 2013 at 2:43 p.m.

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The mud will fly again June 1, and registration for the three-mile obstacle course race is now open. The race will return to Berkeley Park on Balfour Road in Hendersonville and will venture into the surrounding forests. The course will be filled with mud pits, creeks, gooey crawls, and obstacles to climb.

This year's event will feature some changes and enhancements. Last year was a learning process for the nonprofit's board, and some tweaks have been made.

<p>The first Mad Mountain Mud Run, a fundraiser for Hands On! A Child's Gallery, was so successful that there was no doubt it would become a yearly event.</p><p>The mud will fly again June 1, and registration for the three-mile obstacle course race is now open. The race will return to Berkeley Park on Balfour Road in Hendersonville and will venture into the surrounding forests. The course will be filled with mud pits, creeks, gooey crawls, and obstacles to climb.</p><p>This year's event will feature some changes and enhancements. Last year was a learning process for the nonprofit's board, and some tweaks have been made.</p><p>“We learned some valuable lessons from doing it last year,” Hands On! Executive Director Heather Boeke said.</p><p>This year's race will be more team-oriented, she said, as only teams of four will be allowed to register. </p><p>“The people in teams enjoyed it more,” she said. “It's a team-building exercise. There will be obstacles that you won't be able to get through unless you're working with your team.”</p><p>With that in mind, the race will expand to a maximum of 2,000 racers this year. Last year the limit was 1,300. </p><p>Racers will find a unique course that will get them even dirtier than last year. </p><p>“We're working to create more mud,” Boeke said. “We're working to get it muddier as well as build more obstacles.”</p><p>The race won't be the only highlight. There will be a festival with live music, food and local beer.</p><p>Registration is $160 before March 1, and $190 afterward. All proceeds go to Hands On!. The event will require 200 volunteers.</p><p>Anyone interested in being a sponsor or volunteer can contact Boeke at 828-697-8333 or heather@handsonwnc.org.</p>